Animals in our dreams: What are they trying to tell us?

We can see different animals, birds and fish in our dreams. Their actions towards us in our dreams can vary seriously – they can be friendly, they can speak to us, they can just appear at the background of our dream and they can be rather aggressive. Depending on what the animals are doing in our dream we can interpret it. The following are interpretations of the dreams connected with animals.

Animals in dreams can take on almost any conceivable character or symbolic role. From some of the earliest recorded human dreams, animals have revealed much about the meaning of a particular dream. This includes dreams of personal insight or circumstances, and also dreams of revelatory content. Animals can befriend us, talk with us, chase us, eat us, or just be there in the dream to either comfort or bother us.

Animals often appear in dreams for very personal reasons, and have to do with your own experiences with them. How you experience an animal in both waking and sleeping is central to its meaning. This includes both how the animal actually behaves in your dream, and your waking stereotypical attitude about the animal. This is important because the two may be juxtaposed.

Consider a dog. Dogs are often considered to be loyal and friendly. However, many people have a deeply rooted fear of dogs. Dogs also have stereotypes that are opposites (for example, "man's best friend" versus "call off the dogs").

People with a deeply held fear of dogs may experience a dog dream that validates the fear one night and contradicts it another time. What the animal is doing is also central to how the dream is interpreted. Are you being chased by animals? Eaten by animals? Talking with animals?

Farm animals are not too unusual in dreams. However, they seem to be less common than they were in more agricultural times. Grazing farm animals generally reflect a sense of being provided for adequately. In early dream history, grazing animals were taken as a sign that prosperity and calm were coming to, or prevalent in, a land.

Killing animals is a more unusual dream theme that divides into two general areas: killing by necessity, and killing arbitrarily. Killing out of necessity could be a hunter-provider archetype dream or a survival dream. These dreams often reflect a sense of responsibility for the other characters in the dream or of a need to prove oneself. Dreams of killing animals arbitrarily may reflect either wish-fulfillment, anger projection, or frustration with a social taboo.

2. Birds

If you have ever seen the movie The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock, you will understand at once that birds receive mixed reviews in the human saga. Birds have often been perceived as troublemakers and omens of bad tidings throughout history. To have the birds of the air pick the flesh off your bones was an awesome sign of judgment in the ancient Near East.

Ravens, crows, and vultures could share in this task. However, the gift of flight has retained a sense of majesty for birds as a genus, and certain birds in particular. Note that the phrase "Soaring on eagles' wings" has been a sign of hope for twenty-five centuries.

The visual acuity of many birds (i.e. the eyes of a hawk) also conveys positive perceptions, while ravens and owls are also stereotyped as vessels of wisdom in myth and literature. The ability of some birds to speak places them in a special category as far as non-human creatures are concerned. Some people may be characterized as bird-like in your dreams. If you speak with birds in your dreams, you probably have some communication issues to consider. This is true even when the birds do not speak in reply. As with other animals, the bird and its underlying image in your experience are crucial to discerning the meaning of your dream.

3. Creepy-crawly (snakes)

Reptiles are the most difficult dream symbols because it is so widely interpreted among various cultures. Interpretations run the gamut from blood-curdling fear to wisdom and peace. These options are determined by literary history and folklore from different cultures, as well as personal experience.

In waking life, it is not uncommon to be afraid of snakes. For some people, this fear is disruptive and pathological, even to the point that a photo of a snake represents an oppressive threat. For these people, snake dreams are almost universally bad. If the dream includes someone who handles snakes, whoever tames the object of the fear is likely a source of wisdom and control in the dreamer's world, and may be a representation of some aspect of themselves or someone else they know.

Among Asian and Native American cultures, the snake is a wisdom symbol. The idea of wisdom comes from the snake's ability to shed its skin and renew itself. If one dreams of snakes from this perspective, it is a dream of renewal, problem-solving, and good tidings in general.

In Judeo-Christian cultures, the snake is a symbol of temptation or spiritual opposition against reaching one's goals. This concept is derived from Bible when Satan tempts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Edenin the form of a snake. Sometimes, a snake dreamt in this context willremind you of a particular person in your waking life with whom you have a competitive relationship.

Finally, Freud and classical psychotherapy have also thrown interpretations into this "pit." The contention is that the snake is a type of phallus. The snake often embodies fear about intercourse and an aversion to it.

Coming up with an insightful interpretation for your dream snake could be tricky. What emotions are prevalent regarding the snake: fear, respect, or opposition? What is your attitude about snakes in waking life: neutral, fearful, or friendly? Did the snake appear when you were alone or were others with you when the snake entered the dream scene? What are your feelings about those others?

4. Fish

Freud held that small fish represented the male semen. Medium-sized fish (logically enough) were children. Fishing poles were a symbol of the phallus. Other dreams about fishing may resolve around seeking provision for your needs in life, desiring to find something that seems "below the surface," or looking for primordial instincts, if Darwinism is your worldview of choice. To dream of fish may simply be a dream of nourishment, or lack thereof. It may also point to a sense of adventure or travel.

The following are interpretations of some particular animals

Dogs

Dogs can be great friends or frightening adversaries. In dreams, the friendly dog may be a representation of a trustworthy relationship or intuitive affirmation of it. The wild dog may represent a nagging, ongoing struggle with a seemingly irresolvable conflict. (Of course, either case may just be a replay of a life situation starring a real dog that you know, either friend or foe.) Do you want someone who is unfairly persecuting you to "call off the dogs"? Is there a relationship in your life where the loyalty is at question or is especially pronounced?

Cats

Cats have several commonly observed meanings that translate pretty easily between waking and dreams. Traditionally, cats have symbolized intuitive or magical powers. The former may be a herald to trust intuition. The latter may be a fantasy on your part to acquire witch skills or to investigate occult matters. Of course, your own cat may simply appear in your dreams as a member of your daily life.

Rats

Rats are almost universally despised in the modern world. Their reputation as disease-laden scavengers seems to precede them wherever they go. Some people own rats as pets and will, of course, perceive them differently. For most people, dreams of rats reveal concerns of becoming destitute scavengers themselves-friendless and outcast. Another potential scenario is that the dreamer feels his or her social security is being gnawed away. In contrast to theft, when all is quickly and dramatically taken, the rats gradually erode their environment. In your waking life, do you view rats as potential pets or potential predators? In your dream, are the rats a serious threat to your health or possessions, or are they merely an uncomfortable presence?

Elephant

In the Zulu culture, the elephant is the symbol for wisdom, patriarchy, and sacred relationships (similar to the bear or eagle in Native American culture). It is important to notice that geographically different cultures find symbols within their own contexts to convey universal themes of human concern. Also, most western cultures revere the elephant as powerful and possessing a strong memory. Because of our common acknowledgment that elephants have powerful memories, to dream of an elephant may be an association with the act of memory-this may point to something forgotten in your life.

Bear

The appearance of a bear in a dream is a good example of dream interpretation as being culturally shaped. For most of us, bears are not very good companions, and they represent ill-temperament. The exception is in Native American traditions. For the Navajo and Crow Indians, the bear is a father or grandfather figure that possesses wisdom and knowledge of the sacred.

Hawk

Hawks are interesting dream figures. They aren't quite eagles, but they definitely rank above the crows. Like the eagle, hawks are common symbols in many cultures. Native American dreams revere the hawk and eagle the way the Greeks revere Zeus and Hermes. The hawk is the warrior-visionary while the eagle is the sacred wisdom and power. To dream of hawks is to see oneself as engaged in, but outwitting, opponents through the ability to perceive more completely. It may also be a dream of providing adequately through skillful acquisition or insightful maneuvering. Do you see yourself as soaring with the hawks or pecking with the pigeons in waking life? This may be wish-fulfillment or concern over the direction your life is heading.